An IGN writer boots up GTA IV for the first time since 2008 and draws up a wish list. Heavy driving, relationships, city detail: a plea for roughness.
Image: Rockstar Games / YouTube
Sources ign.com
A heat wave, a weekend without energy, and an old console. IGN publishes a piece by one of its writers who booted up Grand Theft Auto IV for the first time since 2008, eighteen years, with one idea: to see what GTA 6 should take from it. The verdict is simple: the game is still good.
The first shock, IGN says, is the draw distance, very poor on the original Xbox 360 version. Then the city takes over: a "lived-in" Liberty City, a cramped first apartment for Niko, posters held up by tape, Roman's taxi with a rear bumper barely hanging on. I drive a bus every day, and I recognise that pleasure of details that tell a life better than any cutscene.
Another point IGN owns up to, despite the old controversy: he likes GTA IV's driving. Cars are heavy, corners slide, some roads feel iced over, but that looseness makes chases unpredictable. He admits you have more control in GTA V, five years later, and misses the risk of its predecessor. He hopes GTA 6 finds a balance between the two. I get it: a road you can feel under the wheels matters as much as a good soundtrack.
The writer also rediscovers the relationship system, often mocked for cousin Roman's constant phone calls asking to go bowling. He finds it deeper than he remembered: spending time with characters unlocks weapons or helicopters, and it reflects well the experience of arriving in a big city where you know almost no one. IGN adds that Three Leaf Clover, the bank robbery mission, is still ahead of him, and that colleague Luke Reilly is preparing a full reappraisal of GTA IV for its GTA legacy series.
The relationship question remains open: Rockstar has not detailed an equivalent system for GTA 6, as far as we have read. The game releases on November 19, 2026 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with preloading from November 12, PEGI 18, 79.99 euros standard and 99.99 euros Ultimate. No PC version announced.
Nothing in the game itself, everything in the outlook. This replay reminds us that what makes a GTA is the grain, the owned clumsiness, the city you cross half-distracted. For those who want to wait with music, a visit to the radio page does the job too.
Sources ign.com
By Gabriel Janvier · VI Countdown newsroom, OKALAM Studio